Yesterday, continuing with the Greek theme, I tried my hand at Pastitsio. A favorite of mine, kinda like a Greek lasagne, means "messy kitchen" and comes from the Italian word "pasticcio" meaning "mess." I followed
this recipe.
In order for it to taste right, you gotta get 1 500g package of Pastitsio Macaroni #2. Usually can find in the international food section of the supermarket, or you can use penne or some shit, I guess.
And you gotta get the kefalotyri cheese, but good luck finding it unless you live near a Greek market / deli / neighborhood. I ordered mine from parthenonfoods.com.
Heat up some olive oil and brown up about 2 pounds of ground beef / ground lamb / or a combo, then add a big yellow onion diced, cook til translucent. Then add some cinnamon, allspice, salt, pepper, white wine, tomato sauce, and parsley and let that simmer until a lot of the liquid cooks down. While that's going, cook the noodles BUT BE CAREFUL AND DONT BREAK THEM.
Toss the noodles in some butter, egg whites, and a cup of the kefalotyri cheese then line half of them them up on the bottom of a roasting pan. I used a 12 x 18 x 3 sized one. Flatten the noodles as much as you can and then pour the meat sauce in an even layer over the noodles. Then line up the other half of the noodles to cover the meat sauce.
Once that's set up, preheat oven to like 375 and get your bechamel sauce ready. Melt a cup of butter over low heat, add a cup of flour slowly, whisking constantly to make a roux. Let that cook for a minute, but don't let it brown. Add a quart of warmed milk in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Then, turn up the heat so it simmers a bit but doesn't boil until it thickens up. Then take off the heat and whisk in about 8 lightly beaten egg yolks and a pinch of nutmeg. It should be thicker than gravy but thinner than pudding. If you coat the back of a spoon, draw a line through it with your finger, and the line stays (sauce doesn't run) then it's thick enough.
Pour over the top of the pastitsio, making sure to get into the corners and edges. (I used a spatula to go around the edges of the pan to ensure the sauce got all in there). Cover with another 1/2 cup of kefalotyri and bake for 45 min to an hour.
So damn good, but the recipe makes a shit ton so might wanna freeze it after or something or share with a bunch of people.
Right now, I'm waiting for my pastry dough to rest so I can get started on some homemade pop tarts.
Raspberry, blueberry, and nutella.
